Latest news with #OpenDataDC
Technical.ly
2 days ago
- Business
- Technical.ly
DC weekly roundup: A largely local seed raise; feds overhaul AI safety group; DC's new neighborhood-level open data portal
Welcome to the weekly roundup of the latest from DC's tech and entrepreneurship scene. Want this in your inbox? Subscribe for free. This week's newsletter features an exclusive on former DC RealLIST Startup Trustible's $4.6 million seed raise, largely backed by local funders (though you might recognize the ex-Google chief among its angel investors). In addition, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced some changes for a key AI safety group — including taking 'safety' out of its name. What else should you know this week? Check out the roundup below. • It's been a busy month in the DMV: Virginia Tech is launching an advanced computing institute at its recently opened in Alexandria and government contractor Tyto Athene acquired a fellow Northern Virginia tech company. [ • College Park's IonQ acquired fellow quantum firm Oxford Ionics in a transaction valued at $1.075 billion. [IonQ] • DC launched a portal using its open data that ranks community safety, education, housing and more at a neighborhood level. [Open Data DC] • Climate tech firm Hydrosat is set to launch its second satellite soon, following its first launch last summer. It'll be used to collect data about water supplies, droughts and vegetation health. [Hydrosat/ • Check out the key things you need to know if you are looking to sell your business. [ • Orange County, CA investment firm (hello to my hometown) Leonid Capital Partners is opening an office in DC, specifically in the new tech space known as Station DC. [Washington Biz Journal/ • The district is set to ban cellphones during school hours next school year. Speaking of kids using phones, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin recently signed a bill prohibiting cellphones in the state's public schools, and teens under 16 will be limited to one hour of social media use a day. Enforcement protocol remains unclear. [WTOP/Washingtonian] • Montgomery County will grant Reston IT firm Powersolv $9,000 to relocate to Rockville. [MoCoShow] • Cybersecurity issues, hacks and toxic leadership have plagued Prince George's County for years. [WTOP] 🗓️ On the Calendar • On June 11, hear CEO Chris Wink and leaders in Pittsburgh discuss how elected officials and civil servants can improve local operations. [ Details here ] • Learn about the space and defense industries at Seed2Table's next meetup on June 11. [ Details here ] • Collaborate with civic technologists at Civic Tech DC 's next project night on June 11. [ Details here ] • District Angels is hosting a graduation for its latest fellowship class and a round of lightning pitches on June 12. [ Details here ] • Do you care about digital equity in DC? Attend the Digital Navigator Summit on June 13 at the MLK Library. [ Details here ] • For introverts and ESL individuals: Learn how to ace your interview at a workshop on June 17 hosted by Women and Gender eXpansive Coders DC. [ Details here ] • Curious about DOD SBIR/STTR program awards? Arlington Economic Development is hosting a workshop all about it on June 17. [ Details here ]
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
DC ties last year's homicide numbers following deadly midday shooting
WASHINGTON () — Tuesday's midday deadly shooting was the latest in what has already been a violent past few weeks in the District. In the early morning hours, a — less than 24 hours after a left one man dead and two others hospitalized. Hours later and in the middle of the day on Tuesday, a woman was shot and killed in Southeast D.C. Just two days into the last week of May, many people in D.C. have expressed concern over what has been a tragic month, with over a dozen shootings in which someone was hurt or killed. Though many have been classified as homicides, in one case, a and died while filming a video for social media. 'Death penalty eligible case': Suspect charged in shooting that killed two Israeli Embassy staff members, officials say One double shooting gained international attention after a . As the month comes to an end, many eyes are on the District. 'Unfortunately, we are seeing too many — and I'll emphasize too many — inter-personal conflicts where the results are the production of firearms to resolve these conflicts,' D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith on May 27 regarding the recent violence in the District. In the past four weeks, there have been more than 200 violent crimes — 19 of which were homicides (as of 4 p.m. on May 27). Seven of those homicides happened in a five-day span, according to . Assault with a Dangerous Weapon (with any or no weapon) offenses remain down year-to-date — a positive trend, comparatively. Though when compared to 2024 data, the gap gets slimmer with every incident. A somber tie to last year's numbers, as of just before 1 p.m. on May 27, the District reached the same number of homicides as 2024. DC mayor presents 2026 budget amid forced cuts, impacts from federal job loss Since the beginning of the year — as of May 27, 2025 — there have been 69 homicides in the District, compared to 69 as of May 27, 2024, according to OpenDataDC and Tuesday's two deadly shootings. Smith said the shootings — fatal and non-fatal — over the past few weeks have been a result of conflict between people who know each other. 'I spent all weekend looking at every single case with my team. We broke it down from top to bottom, and what we're seeing is really just individual conflict,' she said. 'My message to the community is this: We have to resolve conflict much better than the way we're resolving conflict,' Smith said. DC police chief says youth curfew was a success during Memorial Day weekend She pleaded with people to reach out to police about interpersonal conflicts so that they can provide families with the resources they need to resolve issues without violence. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
RFK Jr and his grandchildren swam in DC creek contaminated by sewage
The US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, has revealed that he went swimming with his children in a Washington DC creek that authorities have said is toxic due to contamination by an upstream, ageing sewer system. The 'Make America healthy again' crusader attracted attention for the Mother's Day dip in Dumbarton Oaks Park with his grandchildren Bobcat and Cassius, which he posted about on X. He was also accompanied by relatives Amaryllis, Bobby, Kick and Jackson. Rock Creek, which runs through the federal park, is described as unsafe for swimming or wading because it acts as a runoff for excess sewage and storm water during rain storms. Studies of streams in the nation's capital have revealed 'chronic elevated levels of Escherichia coli (E coli) contamination that exceeded DC's surface water quality standards', according to one published in 2021. Related: RFK Jr's autism comments place blame and shift research responsibility to parents, critics say The District of Columbia banned swimming in all waterways in 1971, citing 'extraordinarily high levels of pollutants from human and animal waste containing bacteria such as salmonella and hepatitis, and viruses'. Separately, the National Park Service has said: 'Rock Creek has high levels of bacteria and other infectious pathogens that make swimming, wading, and other contact with the water a hazard to human (and pet) health. All District waterways are subject to a swim ban – this means wading, too!' Part of the issue is that the District's combined sewer system was developed before 1900, and – like New York City sewage and rain systems – is designed to combine to ease runoff, bypassing water treatment plants. In Washington, according to Open Data DC: 'Release of this excess flow is necessary to prevent flooding in homes, basements, businesses, and streets. [Combined sewer overflows] are discharged to the Anacostia River, Rock Creek, Potomac River or tributary waters at CSO outfalls during most moderate rain events.' Kennedy, an avid outdoorsman, had not responded to a request for comment as of publication time, and has not posted on social media about it. In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Kennedy described himself as a 'renegade'. Joined by other appointees to the federal health agency – including the TV doctor Mehmet Oz, Marty Makary and Jay Bhattacharya – he said: 'The entire leadership of this agency are renegades who are, you know, who are juggernauts against convention and who are trying to look for truth, no matter what the cost.' On Sunday, Kennedy joined Donald Trump to unveil a new administration plan to lower high US prescription drug prices. He thanked the US president for standing 'up to the oligarchs' and took aim at Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, who has made drug pricing a signature issue of his political platform. Related: 'Laughable, if it weren't so dangerous': your responses to RFK Jr's autism stance 'It's one of these promises that politicians make to their constituents knowing that they'll never have to do it,' the former 2024 Democratic turned independent presidential candidate said. Sanders later scoffed at the administration's plan, saying it 'will be thrown out by the courts'. Kennedy is known for taking risks of a biological kind. He admitted to transporting a roadkill bear cub to New York's Central Park, and his daughter Kick described a childhood adventure when her father transported a rotting whale head on top of their car from Nantucket to their Westchester home. Had Kennedy's foray into the polluted creek produced ill effects, the probable treatment for E coli poisoning would not necessarily have benefited much from the administration's drug cost reduction plan. Common antibiotics used to treat E coli infections are typically priced $10 to $30 for a course of treatment.
